The New Clans
by dragontama9511
Summary: When Darkness took over the forest, a cat and her ten friends left and began the New Clans. Many moons later, they are thriving, but the trouble hasn't begun yet. Rated T for some bad injuries, just in case.
1. Allegiances

In a time of darkness, ThunderClan had a leader descended from Tigerstar

**Author's Note: This is the first fanfiction I've put on the internet (and my first Warriors fanfiction), so please don't expect me to know everything. Soon, the prologue will be up. Unless I go on a really long vacation, the most time in between updates should be two weeks, and if I do go on a long vacation, I'll mention it first. Updates will probably be every few days. I've written a few chapters, but I don't want to put it all up at the same time, because I'm sort of stuck, and I don't want the gap between updates to be too long, and anyways, I'm evil. If it doesn't look like it yet, wait until you see part two of chapter one...I love to torture the characters ;)**

Allegiances

**FlowerClan**

Leader:

Goldenstar-gold-colored she-cat

Deputy:

Treefur-brown, rough-furred tom

Medicine Cat:

Yewtail-tabby with white she-cat

Warriors:

Whiteclaw-white tom

Apprentice: Windpaw

Raventail-black she-cat

Apprentice: Orangepaw

Mousetail-tabby with white she-cat

Apprentice: Crowpaw

Redtail-calico, brother of Bloodtail

Apprentice: Owlpaw

Blackleaf-black with white paws, brother of Raventail

Apprentice: Pinepaw

Queens:

Greenfoot-white with grass-stained paws

Apprentices:

Pinepaw-tabby with white she-cat

Crowpaw-black, son of Raventail

Windpaw-black, sister of Crowfur

Owlpaw-tabby with white she-cat

Orangepaw-gold-colored she-cat with white paws, only daughter of Goldenstar, but her father is unknown.

Kits:

Soilkit-white tom

Greenkit-white she-cat

**SnowClan**

Leader:

Bluestar-blue-grey she-cat

Deputy:

Swiftclaw-silver tabby she-cat

Medicine Cat:

Alderfur- black tortie Siamese tom

Warriors:

Bramblefur-dark tabby tom

Apprentice: Greypaw

Sundapple- black tortie Siamese, sister of Alderfur

Apprentice: Dancingpaw

Bearfur-dark tabby tom, wise

Apprentice: Bloodpaw

Silverlight-silver she-cat

Redtooth-red tabby tom, loves fighting

Queens:

Reedpool-tabby

Frostsnow-silver/white

Apprentices:

Greypaw-grey tabby

Bloodpaw-calico tom, brother of Redtail (runaway) and Redtooth

Dancingpaw- black tortie Siamese, Silverlight's sister

Kits:

Starkit-silver-blue she-cat, Frostsnow's kit

Dreamkit-silver-blue she-cat, sister of Starwatcher

Bluekit-silver-blue she-cat, sister of Dreamheart

Elders:

Greyclaw-silver tabby, father of Reedpool

**MoonClan**

Leader:

Darkstar-dark tabby she-cat

Deputy:

Shadowfur-silver tabby she-cat

Medicine Cat:

Nightpelt-black she-cat

Warriors:

Shortwhisker-dark tabby tom

Apprentice: Rockpaw

Snowfur-white tom

Apprentice: Flyingpaw

Sharpclaw-silver tabby she-cat

Apprentice: Splashpaw

Rainypelt-blue-grey tom

Blueclaw-blue-grey she-cat

Apprentice: Sparrowpaw

Apprentices:

Flyingpaw-silver tabby she-cat

Splashpaw-silver tabby tom with white paws, underbelly, and star on face

Rockpaw-grey tabby tom

Sparrowpaw-silver tabby she-cat

**SunClan**

Leader:

Lionstar-light gold tom

Deputy:

Brightheart-white she-cat

Medicine Cat:

Adderfang-black tom with white patch on throat

Warriors:

Quickwind-red tom

Berrypelt-tortoiseshell tom

Apprentice: Milkpaw

Dawnsun- tortoiseshell she-cat

Apprentice: Wingpaw

Yellowfur-yellow she-cat

Browntail-brown tom

Queens:

Flowertail-tortoiseshell

Sparrowfeather-black and white

Apprentices:

Wingpaw-white she-cat

Milkpaw-off-white she-cat

Kits:

Piercedkit-black tom


	2. Prologue

In a time of darkness, ThunderClan had a leader descended from Tigerstar

**Author's Note: I said soon, and I didn't say how soon, but I meant a couple of hours. Here is the prologue. And by the way, on the Allegiances chapter, at the beginning, it says something like, "Once ThunderClan had a leader descended from Tigerstar". That wasn't in the document when I uploaded it, but it was when I originally wrote it. I re-did the chapter to try to get rid of it, but it's still there. It shouldn't be, and if there is anything before the Author's Note, it shouldn't be there. And anyways, the evil ThunderClan leader was long before Tigerstar's time, not descended from him.**

Prologue

In a time of darkness, ThunderClan had a leader who was cruel and hated by all. She made a loner of any ThunderClan cat who dared to defy her. Most of them joined other Clans or remained loners. But there was one who did not.

Her name was Grasswhisker. She took a group of ten loners with her and left. Once she had found a suitable place that was similar to the place she had left behind, they settled down, splitting into groups that they knew would form Clans one day. Thus, the New Clans began.

Grasswhisker took her friends and formed FlowerClan. Her friends were Leafpelt of RiverClan and Poppypelt from WindClan. They chose an area between two streams that merged on the other side of the Thunderpath. It was a meadow covered in flowers, but with many trees and bushes and nice streams that were plenty deep and wide. Redclaw of ThunderClan, Snowfur of RiverClan, and Greytail of ShadowClan began SnowClan, a group of cats that thrive in winter weather. They chose a normal forest that had plenty of room in between trees. It had many streams running through it, but most were small enough for a kit to jump over. It was opposite from FlowerClan. Snakefang and Duskfur, both formerly of ShadowClan began MoonClan, choosing a denser forest next to SnowClan. This left a patch of field across from MoonClan and next to FlowerClan. It had a lot of grass and flowers, and was claimed by the first members of SunClan: Lionpelt, who had left ThunderClan, and Brightfur and Silverflower of WindClan.

These eleven cats began the New Clans, and their kits continued it, and many moons later, some of the New Clans were larger than the Clans their founders had left behind.


	3. 1 Dancingpaw

In a time of darkness, ThunderClan had a leader descended from Tigerstar

**Author's Note: I can't believe that I forgot the disclaimer! Well, I don't own the idea of Warriors, but I do own this story and the characters, except a few from the books that will be mentioned later. This chapter is long, but please R&R! And speaking of reviews, I am stuck, and I've been asking a lot of people for ideas for life-changing injuries that could happen to cats, like blindness, both legs broken, deafness, etc.(I can't use those, but I could use a similar injury), but no one can think of anything. Yes, I am planning to injure a character, but I need a good idea first, so I'm asking anyone who reads this. If you think of a good idea that would work in the story, your name will be mentioned.**

**And by the way, on one of the chapters, I mentioned that my evilness will make more sense once you see part 2 of chapter 1, but it will really be in chapter five.**

Dancingpaw watched eagerly as her sister, Silverpaw walked up to the Great Pine. As all apprentices did at the end of their training, she climbed up the tree and received her Warrior name. "Silverlight! Silverlight! Silverlight!" all the cats called, and then, Bluestar ended the meeting. Dancingpaw was shocked. Sundapple had said she was ready, but she had not been given a warrior name. And her sister was a warrior! She sulked off, her tail lashing back and forth with anger. "Dancingpaw?"

It was Sundapple. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she said coldly.

"I _did_ tell Bluestar, I really did! I guess she doesn't agree with me, or else she can't think of a warrior name for you," her mentor said, purring slightly at the joke. "Seriously," she said, her voice losing all hint of laughter. "Apprentices have actually had to wait because their leader couldn't think of a name!" Even Dancingpaw purred at that. But she still didn't turn around. She carefully avoided her sister and headed to the apprentice den. _That arrogant piece of fox dung! She will be rubbing this in my face for moons..._

But she realized that Silverlight wouldn't be coming in here. She would go to the warrior den. Dancingpaw was glad for that. She realized she was tired, and it was getting late, so she curled up, closed her eyes, and fell asleep. Her dream was full of dancing light. _Dancing light?_ she thought when she awoke. _Dancing-light? Dancinglight..._

_Maybe StarClan is telling me I'll become a warrior today. Dancinglight would be a nice name..._

She stood up and stretched. She silently strode into the medicine cat's den. She found it easy to not be heard, and saw that Alderfur was already awake, sorting a pile of herbs. She looked up. Dancingpaw thought it was interesting that she and Alderfur looked so similar.

"Why are you here?" Alderfur asked, not unkindly.

"I had a dream that I think may mean something." He walked over and sat next to her.

"It looked like nothing at first, but when I woke up I realized that you could call it dancing light...which I think could mean my warrior name." She felt rather foolish.

"Maybe..." Alderfur seemed lost in his thoughts. Suddenly he appeared to remember something. "Well, you could be right, or it might mean something else, or it wasn't special at all." But to Dancingpaw, it seemed important. She wasn't sure why. She left and realized she was hungry. She hoped Sundapple would have her hunt. She waited for her mentor.

"Good morning," Sundapple said from behind her. She jumped around and her tail poofed up with fear. She realized how stupid she must have looked. "Today, I'll do an assessment again, but Swiftclaw will watch this time. Bluestar can't come. First, you'll fight Greypaw, and then you'll fight me, and if she still isn't satisfied, she'll have you fight her. Then we will watch you hunt."

"Where will we fight?"

"The pine pile."

The pine pile was a place where the floor was covered in pine needles and dirt. It was often used to train young apprentices to fight because it was soft. Dancingpaw supposed it was because she couldn't get tired if she would be fighting three cats and then hunt.

They waited a few minutes for Brightheart. She seemed hurried. Dancingpaw led the way to the pine pile, and soon Greypaw and Bramblefur were following them.

The fight with Greypaw was fairly easy. Dancingpaw was a gifted fighter, and she quickly pinned Greypaw to the ground despite the fact that Greypaw was larger. Greypaw gave up, and then she fought Sundapple.

She used speed this time. Sundapple was quick but a lot larger. Dancingpaw leapt at her, only to retreat and slash again. Eventually, Sundapple was tired, and Dancingpaw pinned her to the ground. Her mentor was tired enough to not struggle.

Dancingpaw was getting tired, but she supposed she could fight Swiftclaw too. Swiftclaw used speed, so she decided she'd use a different method that she'd invented. She could take a lot of damage for someone her age and size, so she'd fight until Swiftclaw was tired, and then pin her to the ground. She waited for the deputy to move. Swiftclaw tried to jump on her, so she dodged it. She then leapt onto the warrior's back. The deputy had expected to hit something and was still confused. She hung on, digging her claws into Swiftclaw's back. Swiftclaw began to roll over, and she leapt off, only to land on the warrior's stomach. They wrestled until Swiftclaw ran a short distance and quickly said, "Okay! I get it! It takes strength to fight three cats, all older than you, and beat them. So now for the hunting part." Suddenly, Dancingpaw realized that Greypaw was staring at her. The other apprentice looked away quickly. She began to purr, and realized that Swiftclaw was doing the same. She was amused! Dancingpaw noticed that Swiftclaw appeared to think that she was a little furball of fury that could defeat anything, partially by surprise that such a small cat was fighting so well.

"You can go anywhere you want," Sundapple said. Dancingpaw softly treaded through the forest until she heard a small sound. She sniffed, and found that it was a mouse. She crouched and snuck up to the mouse. It worked perfectly. She leapt, and before the mouse realized what was going on, it was dead. She buried it near a tree and continued. She caught a shrew, two mice, three small birds and a squirrel before her bad luck began. She saw a large bird on the ground. She snuck slowly through the forest until she was close. She leapt and caught the bird. But the bird scratched her face with its claws, and she let go of it. She fell down because of the pain. She cried out. But Swiftclaw was next to her already. The deputy said, "Don't worry, Sundapple is getting Alderfur."

And she remembered. Normally when she dreamed, she remembered the end first, but this time she had remembered the middle first. She forgot the details until now. The dream was of dancing lights that she longed to get to, but she couldn't move. Every time she tried, she was hurt, and she gave up and just stared at them. She was in so much pain now it reminded her of the dream. She began to relax. It hurt, but she was getting used to it. She didn't want to open her eyes, so she just lay there. Soon she smelled Alderfur and some herbs. "I need you to eat these," he said. He waited for her to stand, and then put them on the ground in front of her. She smelled them there and ate them. The pain was waning. She asked, "Are my eyes okay?"

"I don't know yet," he said. He led her back to camp and into the medicine den. She mostly knew the way, but with her eyes closed, she was doubtful. She trusted the medicine cat to lead her there, partly because he was her mother's brother.

Dancingpaw didn't remember her mother very well. She had never known who her father was. She knew that her mother had died fighting off badgers, but she didn't know anything about her father. Sundapple and Frostsnow were also siblings of her mother. She wondered if her father was from another Clan sometimes. She never really knew her mother, so she didn't know if her mother would fall in love with a cat from another Clan. She fell asleep.


	4. 2 Orangepaw

In a time of darkness, ThunderClan had a leader descended from Tigerstar

**A/N: Thanks so much Sakeraa for my first review! Uh . . . I don't have anything else to say, which is amazing considering the last three author's notes.**

**Disclaimer: I only own this story and its characters (except the ones from the books I will metion later in the story), so I don't own Warriors.**

Orangepaw crouched, her white paws making no sound as she approached the mouse. The small creature was eating, like mice usually were. She prepared, and then leapt. She landed with her paws on the mouse and quickly bit it. She froze when she heard a sound, and then relaxed as she realized it was just her mentor, Raventail. The black she-cat leapt from one of the few trees and said, "That was great! After you catch one more and take them back to camp, meet me by the Great Oak.

Raventail leapt back into the tree. Orangepaw watched the black cat jump from tree to tree. Raventail was better at jumping than most cats, and, though the trees were sparse, she could go almost anywhere in FlowerClan territory without touching the ground.

Orangepaw caught a small bird and took both pieces of fresh-kill back to camp. Though Orangepaw had never seen another Clan's camp, she was pretty sure none of the other Clans had a camp like FlowerClan's. There were a group of bushes that had room to sleep underneath. The leader and deputy each got their own bush unless they chose otherwise, if there was more than one queen with kits, every queen would share a bush with their kits. If there were a lot of apprentices, they would use two bushes, and warriors usually took up two or three bushes. The medicine cat's den was a cave under one of the larger bushes so that herbs and safe cats would be safe in bad weather. There was one bush that had a pile of prey – the fresh-kill pile – under it. There were no elders right now, but, like the nursery bushes, the long branches close to the ground were woven and had other branches woven in to keep it warmer and safer. In cold weather, apprentices would pad the walls with moss.

Orangepaw ran out of camp like she was fleeing from dogs. At first, she didn't see Raventail when she got to the Great Oak, but she looked up and saw her mentor. They began battle training.

"This is a move that scares dogs," the black cat said, and then she displayed a move where she turned sideways to look larger, hissed, and grabbed the imaginary dog's nose or face. Orangepaw tried, and then she said, "Would it work if you hung on and kicked the dog with your hind paws?"

Raventail was surprised. She thought for a moment and then said, "If the dog was very large, it would work, but on a small dog, you couldn't even swing your hind paws up to scratch them unless you suddenly gained the ability to go through the ground like a ghost." The black mentor looked around for something, and then said, "Try it on this rock."

The rock was rather large, and a part stuck out of the top that she could hang on to. Orangepaw crouched, and then pounced. Her paws slipped a little on the rock, but she dug her claws into it like it had done her wrong and she was punishing it. She swung her dangling legs up to the rock and scratched while hanging on. She fell onto her feet easily. She practiced the normal version and hers before moving on to a move to knock a foe over. Since Crowpaw was hurt, Mousetail had nothing to do and was wandering around.

Raventail called over the smaller she-cat and demonstrated the move on her. Orangepaw noticed how careful Raventail was not to hurt her fellow FlowerClan warrior. Raventail had Mousetail stand doing nothing, and then she rammed into the tabby she-cat. The rolled a little bit, but then Raventail leapt away while Mousetail was still on the ground and attacked the smaller warrior. Soon, Mousetail was pretending to beg for mercy, and then she pulled her back legs up and raked Raventail's belly gently. They stopped, and Mousetail left. Raventail thanked the smaller cat and began talking to Orangepaw. Mousetail's white paws were hidden in the tall grass that made this place perfect for practicing.

Raventail said, "You can scratch or bite your opponent while they are on the ground, but, as you saw, you have to be fast so that they don't hurt you. This move is dangerous because you usually use it to hurt their belly, while you leave their paws free to scratch and their mouth free to bite."

Next, they practiced fighting and then went back to camp. Orangepaw split the bird she had caught with Pinepaw, who was resting in the apprentice den. Apparently, Pinepaw had sprained one of his feet and couldn't walk very well, let alone hunt or fight. Soon Crowpaw returned. He was followed by his sister, Windpaw, and Windpaw's friend, Owlpaw. Crowpaw and Windpaw were Raventail's and td Pinefoot were Mousetail and Whiteclaw's kits. Owlpaw was a tabby with white paws, like Mousetail, but Pinepaw was white with tabby paws, face, tail and ears. Orangepaw was the only kit of Goldenstar, the leader. Her father was Blackleaf, Raventail's sister. She had been surprised that her mentor was kin. She wondered if an apprentice's parent could be their mentor.


	5. 3 Flyingpaw

In a time of darkness, ThunderClan had a leader descended from Tigerstar

**A/N: I think updates will be ****about**** every week (not the exact same day every week), at least for now. All I own is this story and all of the characters except the ones from the books that will be later in the story. And characters with the same name don't count. The Brightheart in SunClan isn't the one from the books, for instance. And I have one idea for a life-changing injury, but I'm not sure if losing their voice will work. If it doesn't, I'll get stuck at chapter eight. **

Ch. 3

Flyingpaw

A young silver tabby crouched before a white cat. They appeared to be friends. The silver tabby leapt at the white cat, trying to knock him over. He dodged and leapt onto her tail. She twisted around and buffeted his face with her paws, claws sheathed safely in her soft, grey fur. He backed up into a corner.

"Okay, okay!" he said. "That was awesome, Flyingpaw! You used simple, easy moves to corner me, but you should learn how to win without cornering someone, because most battles are not in a cave."

"Which you are going to destroy if you keep that up," Rainypelt said dryly from outside.

"Rainypelt is raining on everyone in camp!" the white cat chanted. It appeared to be something he had been singing often from when he was mischievous apprentice. Snowfur never seemed to have left kithood completely behind.

"Oh, shut up, Snowfur. Everybody knows by now what a rain cloud I am."

"Yup, you're a rain cloud. Rainypelt the rain cloud, raining on his clanmates!" The end was another song. There was no answer.

"But he's right, Flyingpaw," Snowfur said. "We will cave this in if we keep this up. Why don't you go hunting?"

"Okay. Where?"

"By the fork in the stream."

"The one by the Cloud Pine?"

"Yep."

She left and, though she didn't see him, she knew that Snowfur was following her. "I know you're following me, Snowfur."

No answer. She turned around, and he was gone. She searched among the trees and quickly found him. "Ha," she said, and left.

She arrived at the fork in the stream and froze. She heard a few noises, but went after the loudest. It was a large mouse. She snuck up to it carefully and easily caught it. She buried it carefully and listened again. A bird, which was soon dead. She was carrying them back to camp when out of the forest came . . . someone. She crouched among the trees that she blended in with and prepared herself for a fight.

The smells were stronger now. She could smell rabbit, which masked the cat's smell. She buried the prey a little ways away and ran up a tree. Soon, she could see that it was just Rockclaw. Rockclaw was a large dull grey tom, and he was great at fighting, but not so good at hunting. But he had caught a rabbit, which were hard to catch.

Flyingpaw backed down the tree and grabbed the fresh-kill in her mouth. She walked back to camp with Rockclaw, even though they couldn't talk through all the food that green-leaf had to give them. Once they got there, they knew something was terribly wrong.

Flyingpaw could smell fear-scents, and Darkstar was waiting for her. The dark tabby she-cat said, "I think you should see this," and led her into the medicine den. Lightfrost, her father, was dying. "What happened?" she asked as she began to cry.

"He's had a disease for a while, but he survived until now," Nightpelt said.

"Is it contagious?" Flyingpaw asked through her tears.

"I don't think so," the black medicine cat said cautiously. Flyingpaw sat by her father with her mother, Sharpclaw, and her siblings, Splashpaw and Sparrowpaw.

Flyingpaw sat with him until his last breath was gone and his body was cold. That night, she and Sharpclaw and her siblings sat a vigil by his body that night. The next day, Flyingpaw and her family dug a hole under the shadow of the Cloud Pine, the pine tree that touches the clouds. They buried him there.

Flyingpaw ran off up the Cloud Pine and mourned in its branches. Eventually, she became hungry and ate a small bird unfortunate enough to be in the pine's branches.

Snowfur had told her that if she wanted to resume training before the next day, she should tell him, and otherwise, she would train the next day.

Flyingpaw ran to get Snowfur. She like to learn new fighting tecniques to take her mind off things.

"You want to train? Are you sure?" Snowfur said.

"Yes; I want to practice fighting."

"Okay, What about at the sandy spot by the river?"

"Sure," she said, grinning evilly before she bolted away. Snowfur sighed and followed her, walking slowly.

Once they were both there, he said, "First, a move someone in FlowerClan thought up. It is against dogs." He demonstrated it on a log. He hung on while he raked the imaginary dog's chest with his hind claws. Flyingpaw learned it easily.

"Okay," he said. "Now you can learn a back-kick." He demonstrated the kick that young apprentices were always dying to learn. Flyingpaw leaned onto her front paws as she kicked behind her. She fell, but a few tries later, she did a perfect back-kick.

"That was awesome!" Snowfur exclaimed, before having her try a few more times. She almost got it three times before doing one more perfect one and a bad one. "Okay," Snowfur said quickly," let's practice fighting again."

Flyingpaw suddenly realized she had forgotten about Lightfrost's death. She was sad, but only the slightest flicker of sorrow crossed her face before she started the practice fight. Snowfur didn't go too easy on her, but she fought like a warrior – a play-fighting warrior, but still, a warrior. Snowfur let her rest.

The silver tabby went back to camp walking silently alongside the white warrior. She sat by Rockpaw as she ate a sparrow brought in by a large hunting patrol – Rockpaw among them, them being Shortwhisker, Splashpaw, Shadowfur and her mate, Rainypelt, who brought his littermate, Blueclaw, who in turn brought her apprentice, Sparrowpaw, – that brought back two rabbits, three voles, a fat water vole, four mice, and the sparrow Flyingpaw claimed.

Flyingpaw ate and then shared tongues with Rockpaw. "What do you think your warrior name will be?" the dark grey tom asked.

"Flyingfeather is a bit too long, Flyingface sounds just plain freaky, Flyingtail sounds a little odd, and Flyingwing is okay, but it doesn't sound right; then there is Flyingheart, which is like Flyingwing: it's nice, but it just doesn't sound right. Flyingfur sounds like my fur is falling apart, Flyingpelt doesn't make sense (not that it has to), and I really doubt that Darkstar would call me Flyingeye. It sounds just . . . weird. Flyingfoot is nice, and so is Flyingleaf, but surely there is something better."

"Flyingclaw?" Rockpaw suggested.

"That's it!" Flyingpaw exclaimed. "It sounds perfect. And in a battle, my claws sure will be flying at the enemy! Now," she said more calmly, "what about your name?"

"Rockpelt is nice, Rockfur is kinda weird, Rockeye is a little scary, Rocktail sounds, uh . . . odd."

"It sounds like your tail is oversized!" Flyingpaw said, purring. "Rockfeather?" she asked.

"Yeah, Darkstar will actually call me Rockfeather." He said sarcastically. "Instead of light as a feather, I'm light as a rock!" he joked.

"And, said Flyingpaw, "you'll be named after a bird with rocks for feathers. What about Rockclaw?" she asked.

"Yeah, that sounds cool," he said, "but let's think of other cats' names, too." They decided that Splashfoot and Sparrowfeather would be nice names, and they also "named" cats from other clans they'd heard of. "So," said Darkstar when they told her, "you're requesting a certain name?"

"Sort of," said Flyingpaw. "We put every ending for a name we knew, and Flyingclaw sounds awesome. Rockclaw was easier. And," she said, excited, "We think that Goldenstar was probably called Goldenflower or Goldenheart, Bluestar was probably called Bluefur, Lionstar was probably called Lionpelt or Lionheart, and you were probably Darkpelt or Darkfur."

"Actually," Darkstar said, "I was called Darkriver, Goldenstar was Goldenflower, Lionstar was Lionheart, and Bluestar was Blueflower. You were close.

"And I agree with you that those names would be good. But keep in mind that sometimes someone is named after something they discovered or did, like how I was called Darkriver because I warned the Clan about the overflowing river in time to save us. Because of this, I was named after the river. Like you, I dreamed of marvelous names I could have, but I thought that Darkheart would be cool. I liked to be mysterious and unknown. I personally asked Amberstar for that name."

"Amberstar? Rockpaw asked.

"Yes," Darkstar said. "He was the leader while I was growing up. His deputy was Mooneyes. She was black with a white neck, chest, stomach, and feet, and half of her face had half of a white star. But her eyes were a beautiful yellow-green and round and big as the moon. She was killed five moons after I was made a warrior. I was Snowfur's mentor. I was a little upset about mentoring a tom, since back then I thought toms were clumsy and not as clever as she-cats, but Snowfur was a fast learner, though somewhat childish.

"But anyways, since I had trained a good warrior and wasn't expecting or nursing kits, I was made deputy. Almost fifty moons passed while I waited to be a leader. Amberstar lived a long time. But a horrible accident took his last life."

"What happened?" Rockpaw and Flyingclaw asked excitedly. They were acting like kits listening to an elder tell a fascinating tale!

"I can't tell you yet. I haven't told anyone, and the only ones other than me who know were there when it happened. Maybe I will tell someday. Maybe I won't. But you should get some rest, it's getting late."

The young cats headed to the apprentice den and fell asleep. Flyingpaw had a dream where there was a symbol floating in the air. It was a claw, and inside the claw, there was a paw, and inside the paw was a dot. A rock appeared next to the symbol and floated next to it. The rock had symbols on it too. They were the same, but the claw was inside of a star.

Suddenly, a chunk of ice appeared under the rock and the flying symbols. It had symbols carved into it of a dot, a paw, and a fang. A leaf appeared next to it, and the ice moved so that it was under the flying symbols and the leaf was under the rock. The leaf had symbols etched on it with charcoal. The symbols were a dot within a paw that was somehow within a symbol of a cat's hair.

A storm blew in and the leaf and the ice moved over so that they were centered evenly under the rock and the flying symbols. In the center of the storm were yet more floating symbols. A dot within a paw within a heart. Flyingpaw woke up.

Snowfur sent her to hunt at the fork in the stream. She arrived at the fork in the stream and froze. She heard a few noises, but went after the loudest. It was a large mouse. She snuck up to it carefully and easily caught it. She buried it carefully and listened again. A bird, which was soon dead. She was carrying them back to camp when she smelled something odd. She dropped the fresh-kill and followed it. She found the source: a large dog.

**Finally! A cliffhanger!**


	6. 4 Milkpaw

In a time of darkness, ThunderClan had a leader descended from Tigerstar

**A/N: It's a little earlier than I planned, but I'm home sick (even though I just need rest because I had a fever yesterday and I've been tired lately) so I have plenty of time. And I thought of a life changing injury. Maybe I'll update again in a few days. ****R****ead and ****R****eview! Please?**

**And Sakeraa wrote a review for chapter 3 that said that it was amazing Flyingpaw could remember her dream. It never said in the chapter whether or not she remembered it, it just said that she had the dream. And I'm not revealing what it means for a while. I'm not sure when, but it will be a while. But it's not sinister.**

**Disclaimer: No one can own a name, but you can own a character. So even if a name in this story is the same as another story, it's not the same character. But later on, there will be cats from the books. All I own is this story, and almost all of the characters. I don't own the books.**

Ch. 4

Milkpaw

Milkpaw woke up curled up with her fur puffed up as she laid next to Wingpaw. Wingpaw was her sister, but while Milkpaw's long fur was a soft off-white color, Wingpaw was a shorthair with shocking pure white fur. Wingpaw's piercing blue eyes always make Milkpaw uneasy. Milkpaw's light grey-blue eyes sound similar to Wingpaw's, but they were nothing like each other.

Like her fur and eyes, Wingpaw stood out and liked it. She loved to be the center of attention. She was loud and obnoxious, but usually had something interesting to talk about.

Milkpaw was far more subtle, with her soft off-white coat and gentle blue-grey eyes that didn't stand out at all. Other cats often ignored her, for her unusual quietness and her silent footsteps made her practically transparent. Because of this, she was a good hunter. Prey didn't notice her until her paws were on top of them and her teeth delivered a fatal bite to the neck. She could sneak up on anyone. But despite all of this, she was strong and fast. She quickly learned how to fight and became an amazing fighter for her size. Her mentor, Berrypelt, was always amazed.

Berrypelt was a rare tortoiseshell tom. Unlike most tortoiseshells and calicos, his eyes were many-colored, like a pile of random berries. His sister, Dawnsun, was Wingpaw's mentor. He also had another brother and another sister, Quickwind and Flowertail. Flowertail was a queen, but hadn't revealed the name of the tom. Flowertail was tortoiseshell, but Quickwind was a red tom. He and Brightheart were Milkpaw and Wingpaw's parents, and Brightheart's brother, Adderfang, was the medicine cat.

Milkpaw heard a yowl. "Adderfang! Get over here!" It was Flowertail. She kept yowling in pain. Milkpaw stretched and headed to the nursery. Adderfang was running there, so Milkpaw hurried. She sat by the edge of the wall of intertwined sticks and moss as she watched. Adderfang sat and watched. Flowertail had one kit, a tiny black thing. Adderfang helped Flowertail lick its fur. Milkpaw left, and Wingpaw ran up to her, nearly knocking her over in her hurry to see what was going on. "You just woke up?" Milkpaw asked.

"Of course. I don't like to get up at midnight, you know. But what did I miss?"

"Flowertail had one black kit. He's tiny!" Wingpaw ran off to see the kit, and Milkpaw sat in the apprentice's den. She tucked her paws under her long fur and closed her eyes. She had been woken up a little too early and needed to rest. She fell asleep for a few minutes but woke up when Berrypelt called her. The tortoiseshell tom had her practice fighting first. They walked to their favorite spot on SunClan territory: a patch of tall grass with a few small flowers. Most of the rest of their territory was flowers.

Milkpaw loved the beautiful fields of SunClan. There weren't too many flowers. She could see the other Clans' territory from here. She wouldn't be able to stand any of the others. MoonClan's tall pine trees were close together and blocked out the sky. SnowClan's forest had a few clearings, but was mostly forest with bushes that she didn't think she'd like. And FlowerClan had trees and bushes, but they were sparse. FlowerClan also had a lot of grass, but too many flowers.

The two cats crouched, and Berrypelt sprang first. Milkpaw dodged him, and leapt onto his back. He reared onto his hind legs, and then did a back-kick, but Milkpaw was not dislodged. He rolled over, and Milkpaw leapt off. Berrypelt rolled over, and just when his stomach was facing up, Milkpaw leapt onto it. They wrestled, and when Milkpaw bit Berrypelt's hind foot, he leapt away and ran a short ways. She ran up to him and knocked him over with her head. She batted him with her paws, careful to keep her claws in.

"Okay, that's enough. Now hunt, and don't come back until you either have caught five pieces of fresh-kill or until it is almost sun-high." He was joking, and Milkpaw knew because he knew she would easily catch more than that long before it was anywhere near sun-high.

She caught a three rabbits, two mice, a small bird, and a large water vole that she found by the stream. She brought them back two or three at a time, and went back to Berrypelt.

He smiled. He was lucky to have such a good apprentice. He considered what to have her do after sharing tongues: getting new bedding for Lionstar's den or helping Adderfang collect herbs. Milkfur secretly hoped for getting new bedding for Lionstar. Adderfang was sure to be cranky after being woken up at some un-StarClan-ish hour of the morning to watch a cranky queen have one kit that was too small for her to have any trouble.

_Please, Berrypelt, let me get the bedding?_ she thought.

"You can eat a snack and then you can get the bedding."

"Huh?"

"What?"

"Well . . . you acted like I had asked you to let me get the bedding."

"But you did."

"I didn't say anything." He looked suspiciously at her. "Well," he said at last, "I suppose someone played a trick on us. But you wanted to get Lionstar new bedding, didn't you?"

"Yes, but . . ."

"Then why does it matter?" he said coolly. "Go eat and get the moss."

Milkpaw chose the water vole and offered to share it with her sister, but Wingpaw said, "No, I still have to hunt. I'm not allowed to eat." She looked jealous at the amount of prey Milkpaw had brought back.

"Okay." Milkpaw ate some of the vole, and gave the rest to Flowertail. She was nursing, so she'd need some extra food. "Thank you, Milkpaw," the tortoiseshell queen said. Milkpaw left and walked to find some good moss on one of the few trees, taking her time. It wasn't as if Lionstar would be sleeping in a few minutes.


	7. 5 Dancingpaw's Loss

In her dream, she smelled a sweet smell, but not of her clan

**A/N: Thanks a lot, reviewers! I appreciate all of the reviews! **

**Disclaimer: I own the story itself and all of the characters except Cloudspots. I don't own the books.**

In her dream, she smelled a sweet smell, but not of her clan. It was similar. She saw a cat with long fur. He was black except his ears, front paws, and chest. His bright green eyes looked at her. He must have never seen a cat with her coloring. He said, "I'm Cloudspots from ThunderClan. I was their first medicine cat." She looked questioningly at him. _ThunderClan?_ she thought. Cloudspots saw her confusion and said, "Have you heard of Grasswhisker?"

"Yes. She started our Clans."

"But did they tell you that she was born into a Clan?"

"No."

"She was of ThunderClan, like I was. She took ten others with her and formed these Clans like her own."

"Yeah. Our Clan, SnowClan, began with Redclaw, Snowfur, and Greytail."

"ThunderClan, RiverClan, and ShadowClan, I believe."

"Huh?"

"That's what Clans your Clan's founders were from. The four original Clans are ThunderClan, RiverClan, WindClan, and ShadowClan. They still exist, but they've moved to a lake. They started in a forest, but just a few seasons ago, they moved to a lake because twolegs were destroying their territory.

"But when Grasswhisker left, the Original Clans were in dark times. ThunderClan, which had had a reputation for being brave and kind, had a leader that was pure evil. Crowstar was her name, and she would make an outcast of any ThunderClan cat that defied her. She was always trying to unite the whole forest with her in command. She died soon after Grasswhisker left in a battle. She was killed by her own deputy. I watched from StarClan as it all happened.

"But anyways, the Original Clans are in trouble. I might send someone who can explain next time. It'll take at least a few days if I can find someone." He turned to leave.

He looked back and said, "And by the way, don't worry about your eyes."

Cloudspots left, and Dancingpaw woke up. She decided not to tell Alderfur. She scented the air, and found a mouse in front of her. She ate it and smelled again. Alderfur was gone, but he only left a few minutes ago. Dancingpaw tried to open her eyes, but when she did, she didn't see anything. She was blind.

Dancingpaw fainted. She woke up and groomed herself like everything was normal. When she heard Alderfur walk in, she stopped and walked over to him.

"I'm blind!" she yowled.

"I couldn't do anything except keep your face from getting infected."

"But I'm blind! How will I be a warrior if I can't see?"

"Don't worry about that. Blind cats' hearing, sense of smell, and sensitivity to touch become amazingly powerful to make up for the loss of sight."

"But we live in a _forsest_! What if I run into a tree!"

"Someone could guide you."

"So every time I hunt, patrol the border, and fight I'll need a _guide?_ How can I hunt with some other cat stomping around? Tell me that. And how will I be able to fight!"

"You can't," Alderfur said flatly.

"Fine!" Dancingpaw stomped out of the medicine cat den and into the forest. She followed a path she knew well enough to not run into anything. She came to a large tree and began to climb it as she had done so many times before. She clawed at the tree, bit off the leaves, and broke some branches. And then she remembered it was an alder tree. _Alderfur!_

She climbed another tree. She didn't even want to be near either Alderfur or his namesake. She was glad she couldn't see the tree. _Why me?_

She ran to where she knew the lake was, and followed the shore to the island. She crossed the tree and found a place to curl up and fall asleep.


	8. 6 Orangepaw's Injuries

In a time of darkness, ThunderClan had a leader descended from Tigerstar

**A/N: I won't be able to update again for about a week (I will write, though) so I'm updating now. Please R&R!**

**Disclaimer: I don't remember if I made up Quickwind, but I do know for sure that I own the other characters in this chapter. Other than that I just own this story.**

The next day, Yewtail wanted to give the apprentices some practice in dealing with other clans, so she asked some apprentices and young warriors to come with her to ask MoonClan for some herbs she needed, but since MoonClan was rather heavily guarded, she expected an attack. The old she-cat chose Pinepaw, Orangepaw, Windpaw, Redtail, Blackleaf, and Mousetail. As they were leaving, Goldenstar said, rather upset, "Why are you taking half the Clan on a patrol?! And why is Yewtail among you?"

Yewtail said, "I need some herbs from Nightpelt, but with MoonClan so heavily guarded, I want to be prepared for an attack."

"Okay," Goldenstar said, and she continued on her way, but not before giving Orangepaw a few gentle licks.

"Hey!" she exclaimed. "We need to get going."

"Okay," Goldenstar said, rather kindly.

They crossed the Thunderpath easily, for there was only the occasional monster. A short ways into the thick forest, Yewtail's prediction came true. A few warriors attacked them. After a small tussle, the fight was ended by Yewtail's shrill yowl of "STOP!" Everybody stared at her, and she said, "I just need some herbs from Nightpelt."

A dark tabby tome said, "Then why is half of your clan with you?"

Yewtail said in an annoyed, someone rude tone, "Because I knew you were heavily guarded, and anybody who is better than mouse-brained can figure out that you'll attack."

"Okay, I'll lead you to Nightpelt. I'm Shortwhisker, and this is Sharpclaw," he gestured at a silver tabby she-cat, "and Rainypelt," a blue-grey tom. Shortwhisker led them deep into MoonClan territory. They came to a tree that was on the edge of a small cliff. In the hollow underneath was a group of cats. Most of MoonClan. They stared warily at the FlowerClan cats.

Soon they found Nightpelt, a black she-cat. She looked kind. Yewtail went to the front of the group and explained the situation. Nightpelt gave her some herbs, which she handed to her clanmates.

On the way back across the Thunderpath, a monster was coming so the cats were terrified (except Orangepaw and Yewtail, because Yewtail was experienced and Orangepaw understood the situation. While the other cats were crowding together, Orangepaw was trying to get through the crowd. Suddenly, the monster's gleaming eyes glared down at them, and they were paralyzed with fear.

Orangepaw felt like her hind legs were being shattered under the weight. The other cats were under the monster. Orangepaw tried to move before the other wheel came, but it went around her instead of over her. She cried with pain.

The others carried her to the medicine den, where Yewtail gave her some herbs, a bit of fresh-kill, and then left so that Orangepaw could sleep.

In her dream, a cat she didn't know was walking towards her. The cat said, "I am Quickfoot. I was in RiverClan, but now I live among StarClan. You have heard how your Clans began?"

"Yes," Orangepaw said. "Grasswhisker took ten of her friends and they split up into four Clans. Leafpelt, Poppypelt, and Grasswhisker began FlowerClan."

"Grasswhisker of ThunderClan, Leafpelt of RiverClan, and Poppypelt of WindClan." At her surprised look, the calico she-cat said, "Well of course Grasswhisker and her friends came from Clans! There were four clans: ThunderClan, RiverClan, WindClan, and ShadowClan. A few of those cats fled the evil that was taking over the forest and formed the New Clans. I am from RiverClan like Leafpelt. But I was born after they had already left.

"Well," she said, "I have to get going now, but I should tell you: don't worry about your legs. And I might send someone to explain better, if I can find them."

Orangepaw woke up to find Yewtail in the medicine den. "Will my leg be okay?" she asked.

"You probably won't be able to walk normally, and you will probably end up being a medicine cat apprentice." Orangepaw tried to interrupt the elderly tabby, but Yewtail said, "Hear me out before you judge. You would be able to help your Clan in a unique way, and you can talk to StarClan. You would make a good medicine cat, but you would have made a good warrior if not for me. I apologize for asking you to come."

Yewtail left, and Orangepaw fell asleep. She was nudged awake by Pinepaw. He was holding a mouse. "I thought you might be hungry," he explained, giving it to her.

"Thanks," Orangepaw said. She ate the fresh-kill gratefully. She and Pinepaw were best friends.

Goldenstar walked in. "Hello, Pinepaw," she purred. "It's a pleasant surprise to see you, but what are you doing here?"

"I'm bringing Orangepaw some fresh-kill," he said. Goldenstar said, "Orangepaw, I should warn you that you may have to become a medicine cat apprentice but your legs might heal fine, in which case you could be a normal apprentice.

"What?" Orangepaw exclaimed. But her mother was already leaving.

Goldenstar was a queer cat. She was unpredictable, but that was part of the reason that Whiteclaw had fallen in love with her. He was a white cat, and his kit had inherited his white paws and Goldenstar's orange pelt. She had also inherited his slight stockiness. While Goldenstar was long and thin, Orangepaw and Whiteclaw were not at all.

Pinepaw's voice brought Orangepaw out of her thoughts. "I think that if your legs heal well, and you can, you should be a warrior. But that's just my opinion."

"Why?" Her voice was amused and slightly suspicious.

"Because . . . I love you Orangepaw."

"I knew it! Oh . . . and I love you too."

**Okay this chapter was weird. And remember: **

**A good review brightens an author's day and makes them feel like someone actually took the time to read their story; people who took the time to read and review a story like to get some sort of reply to their review, even if it's just a thank you in the author's note.**


	9. 7 Flyingpaw Fights a Large Dog

In a time of darkness, ThunderClan had a leader descended from Tigerstar

**A/N: No reviews? (looks around in a confused manner) Well...I can update again, and I probably will in a few days. Or maybe a week. It depends on the number of reviews, how fast I write, if I feel like updating, bla bla bla. The point is it could be any time.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Warriors. I do own this story and the characters, except Cloudspots, who probably won't be mentioned again, and characters that will be in the story later. **

Flyingpaw remembered a move she had learned against dogs. She would make the dog never want to step foot in a forest again. She leapt up and grabbed the dog's nose. She raked its chest with her hind legs, and then brought them up and scratched the dog's neck.

The dog had been freaking out before, but now it was terrified. It couldn't see very well, and the thing on its nose hurt. The dog began rubbing its nose on a tree. Flyingpaw dropped to the ground, and when the dog saw her, it bit her head. Her ears felt like they were barely on. She fled, taking the fresh-kill with her. She dropped it near the entrance to the camp and ran to the medicine den.

"What happened?" Nightpelt asked, horrified.

"What?"

"WHAT HAPPENED?!"

"I found a dog, and I jumped on its nose to hurt it, but when I eventually fell off it attacked me."

Nightpelt found some herbs and said, "Lay down and eat this."

"What?"

"I THINK YOUR EARS WERE HURT! LAY DOWN AND EAT THIS, AND THEN YOU CAN SLEEP. FOR NOW, SEE IF YOU CAN READ MY MOUTH TO SEE WHAT I AM SAYING."

"Okay." She obeyed. She fell asleep.

In her dream, an orange cat was walking towards her. The cat said, "I am Duskpelt. I was in ShadowClan, but I now walk the skies of StarClan. You have heard how your Clans began, have you not?"

Flyingpaw easily answered the tom's question, since the tale was always told to kits in the nursery. "Of course. Why?"

"You know who started your clan?"

"Snakefang and Duskfur."

"From ShadowClan, like me, but they died long before even my mother's mother was born. You see, there were – are four Clans other than your own. Those other clans are ShadowClan, RiverClan, WindClan and ThunderClan. ThunderClan lives in the forests, WindClan owns the grassy hills they now live in, RiverClan claimed some land with rivers running around it so that it is an island, and we choose marsh and thick pine forests much like your forest.

"Did you know Snakefang and Duskfur, who, in our history were among the first to give ShadowClan a bad name, were in a Clan?" Flyingpaw shook her head.

"Well, that is all I can say for now, but I will send another when I find them. I am searching for them, waiting for them to realize so that I can know which one to send, but they are ignorant as of yet."

And as he was leaving he said without turning around, "Don't worry about your ears."

Flyingpaw woke up and asked Nightpelt if her ears were okay. Nightpelt mumbled something. "What?"

"CLEARLY THEY ARE NOT IF I MUST YOWL FOR YOU TO HEAR ME!" the annoyed black she-cat said.


	10. 8 Milkpaw and the Fox

In a time of darkness, ThunderClan had a leader descended from Tigerstar

**A/N: I decided to add two chapters, but I won't update again until either there are three new reviews, or the ninth or tenth of June. Is anyone even reading this?**

**And I have writers block, but only for this story. So if I don't think of anything, I will start posting another story to pass the time while I try to think of something.**

**Disclaimer: If I owned the Warriors books, they wouldn't be as well-written, and Firestar would not have fallen in love with Sandstorm. All I own is this story and the characters, except for Cloudspots. **

Milkpaw watched the clouds when she wasn't busy, so while she was searching, she occasionally glanced at the sky. It looked like it was about to rain. She continued gathering moss until she felt a large raindrop hit her hard on the ear. She found an old fox den and crawled in.

It was a large fox den by the MoonClan and thunderpath edge of their territory. _I'm lost,_ she realized. The off-white she-cat curled up, but leapt to her feet again when she heard a sound. Something was behind her. She hissed as she jumped to face it to come face-to-face with a large fox.

The apprentice couldn't run because she was so afraid. They fought a little, and then the fox hit her neck hard with a paw. She felt like her throat was crushed and something snapped or broke in it. She was terrified, but she scratched the fox on its jeering face and bolted for her life like all of TigerClan was chasing her.

Adderfang said, "What happened?" She tried to say, "I was attacked by a fox," but no sound came out. She acted like a fox, jeering and slashing to try to get the medicine cat to understand, but he didn't appear to get it.

Milkpaw thought, _Great. I've lost my voice!_

"What?"

Milkpaw realized she could speak with her thoughts. Now she had to figure out how to "talk" to certain cats.

Milkpaw thought, _I was attacked by a fox_, at Adderfang.

"How are you doing that?"

_I don't know, but I think I accidentally did earlier today. Before I was attacked._

"I think I should tell Lionstar."

_Okay._ They walked to Lionstar's den, the young cat slightly behind the older cat.

"Lionstar," Adderfang said carefully," Milkpaw was attacked by a fox and she can't talk – or at least not normally. Maybe you should show him yourself, Milkpaw."

_Okay_, she said to Adderfang only. _This is how I talk now_, she said quietly to them both.

"Whoa!" Lionstar yowled. "Who said that?" He checked outside his den. No one was around.

_I did,_ Milkpaw said sadly.

"I think her vocal cord – the cord in your throat that lets you talk – snapped," Adderfang said.

"Oh," Lionstar said softly.

_I'm tired,_ Milkpaw said. _Can I get some rest?_

"Okay, but don't mention this. I'll announce that you can't talk." The golden tom waited until she would most likely be asleep before he said, "Let all cats able to catch their own prey gather for a meeting."

Once most of the Clan was assembled, he said, "Milkpaw was on an assignment Berrypelt gave her when she was attacked by a fox. She can no longer speak. Please don't bother her now, she needs her rest. Later you can comfort her." He went back to his den and pondered it all.

Milkpaw had a dream about a silver tabby cat. She said, "Hi, Milkpaw! I'm Silverstripe. I was a warrior, but I joined StarClan two moon s after my ceremony. But anyways, I have a message for you. The cats that began your Clans came from Clans, and the original Clans still exist. They are ThunderClan, ShadowClan, RiverClan, and WindClan. I was from RiverClan.

"But don't worry about your voice." She left.


	11. 9 The Gathering

In a time of darkness, ThunderClan had a leader descended from Tigerstar

**A/N: This is the second of the two I'm adding today.**

**Disclaimer: If I owned the Warriors books, they wouldn't be as well-written, and Tigerstar, Brokenstar, and Hawkfrost would be referred to as Tigerkit, Brokenkit, and Hawkkit. All I own is this story and the characters, except for Cloudspots. **

Ch. 9

The Gathering

At the full moon, Orangepaw, Dancingpaw, Milkpaw, and Flyingpaw all had the same dream from StarClan. They watched the Gathering in their dreams.

Bluestar stepped forward. "We have a new warrior, Silverlight, and Dancingpaw will be our medicine cat apprentice when she heals from the bird's attack."

Everyone from the other Clans eyed her suspiciously, but Bluestar ignored them and stepped back, gesturing for Goldenstar to step forward.

"We will most likely have a medicine cat apprentice when Orangepaw heals. Other than that nothing interesting happened this past moon."

Lionstar leapt onto the stump and said, "The prey is good, the rivers are clean, and the plants are regaining their leaves. We have a new kit, Piercedkit, named for his injury. We also have an injured apprentice; Milkpaw was attacked by a fox and is badly handicapped. Other than that, we are thriving." He glared at the other leaders as if daring them to attack.

Darkstar took his place on the stump and said, "Flyingpaw is also hurt, and it is indeed odd that each Clan has an injured cat. Perhaps the will of StarClan? But I do not know.

"On the other hand, prey is good and we are doing very well." The cats dispersed and began to chat amongst themselves while the injured eavesdroppers considered it.

_Do they have to tell the world about my injury?_ Orangepaw thought angrily.

Dancingpaw was even angrier. _They decided my fate for me! How dare they make my decisions for me!_

Flyingpaw was glad that they didn't talk too much about her. She was glad that Darkstar hadn't told it for the whole forest to hear like the other leaders had.

Milkpaw wished that they hadn't called her handicapped, but tried not to think too loudly. What if the cats at the gathering heard her?

But something was happening at the Gathering; Yewtail was saying to Adderfang, "There was a prophecy, but they told me to just tell the medicine cats. 'Four will come with great weaknesses, but their weaknesses will become their power, and they will save the eight Clans.' I think they're the four."

"You know," Adderfang said quietly, "I was told not to tell anyone, but Milkpaw does have a power no other cat has."

"What?" Yewtail said excitedly.

"She can speak with her thoughts, but she can't speak normally. But when she speaks, she can choose who to talk to, and no one else hears – usually. But what use would this power be?"

"I don't know, but you should tell the other medicine cats."

"I already told Nightpelt." He ran off to tell Alderfur.

_He wasn't supposed to tell anyone!_ Milkpaw exclaimed. The other three looked around.

Dancinglight saw an off-white longhaired she-cat and walked over. "StarClan let you watch, too. Who are you?"

_I'm Milkpaw, the injured SunClan cat they were talking about._ They didn't see the eyes watching carefully, but soon the light ginger cat with white paws walked out of a bush.

"You're the cat they were talking about?" Milkpaw nodded. "I'm the injured FlowerClan cat."

"And I'm the injured SnowClan cat," Dancingpaw said.

_Is Flyingpaw here?_ Milkpaw asked.

"I'm coming." A silver tabby she-cat bounded over to them. "So the injured cats are together."

"What are we supposed to do here, start InjuredClan?" Dancingpaw asked StarClan. There was, of course, no answer.

_What about the prophecy they were talking about? They said there would be four with weaknesses, and their weaknesses would become their strength and they would save eight Clans?_

What about it?" Dancingpaw asked.

"I think we're those cats," Orangepaw said.

_Well, I can't talk normally, but I can probably talk to anyone, including StarClan and the other Clans,_ Milkpaw added.

"Maybe Dancingpaw will be able to see anything, Orangepaw will be able to go anywhere in StarClan, and I'll be able to hear anything?"

"Maybe," Dancingpaw murmured.

"That makes sense," Orangepaw agreed, "but how would we find out if your prediction is true?"

"Okay, try to see the MoonClan camp, Dancingpaw," Flyingpaw said.

Dancingpaw stared into the distance. "It's under an upturned tree's roots, which create a cave. There is a small stream running by, and a white tom is wandering around like he usually has something to do, but didn't, and can't sleep anyways because he's worried. There is also a blue-grey she-cat getting a snack, and a she-cat that looks like Flyingpaw is going to get some, and now they're talking about training, they must be a mentor and her apprentice. And the white cat is looking jealously at them."

"Whoa! The white cat would be my mentor if they hadn't decided I'd be the medicine cat apprentice, and Sparrowpaw is Blueclaw's apprentice. I guess you can see anywhere."

_Little bossy thing,_ Dancingpaw thought. "Hey! I heard that!"

"Heard what?" Orangeflower asked.

"Dancingpaw called me a 'little bossy thing'," Flyingpaw said.

"No, she didn't."

"I guess I found your power, then. I was thinking that," Dancingpaw said casually.

_Hey! Nobody else may notice, but I care if you eavesdrop on my thoughts!_ Milkpaw said.

"Okay, okay!"

"And leave me alone, too."

"And me."

"Now I'm an outcast," Flyingpaw muttered, and then said louder, "I was just seeing if you noticed. Don't get your whiskers twisted over nothing."

_Nothing?_

But the four woke up, and realized that their injuries had healed, except for their worst injury, which became their greatest power.


	12. 10 The New Camp

In a time of darkness, ThunderClan had a leader descended from Tigerstar

**A/N: I won't update again until I get one review. Is that too much to ask? Or is anyone still reading this? I also have chapters eleven, twelve, and thirteen written, and I'm going to write more soon, so if you want to read them, review.**

**Disclaimer: I only own this story and most of the characters. The books belong to the Erins.**

Ch. 10

The New Camp

Dancingpaw said to Alderfur, "I want to be a warrior."

"You can't."

"Just 'cuz I'm blind."

"You can't see."

"Yes I can."

"Then go to the river." Dancingpaw mentally looked at the placement of the trees and memorized them. She walked confidently, using her memory and the wind to guide her. She tried to leap onto a rock in the river, but slipped and fell in. She clambered out.

"This si why."

"Fine!" she yowled before pelting into MoonClan. Surely Flyingpaw would forgiver her and let her stay there."

Flyingpaw was wandering around the edge of her Clan's territory as she thought about the Gathering. To make up for her loss of hearing, she kept glancing around. She saw a tan and light brown dappled coat. _Dancingpaw! _she thought.

_Evil cat! I can't believe he's my kin!_ the running cat was thinking.

"Hey!" Flyingpaw yowled, even though she couldn't hear herself. Dancingpaw walked over to her.

"Alderfur insists that I become his apprentice because I'm 'helpless'," she spat. Flyingpaw was glad that Dancingpaw's mind was not complex enough for her to think something different from what she was saying. She wasn't very good at reading lips.

"I was thinking," the deaf cat said, "that we could run away. We can hunt and escape danger.

_That's a good idea._ "Maybe."

"Could you please check on Milkpaw and Orangepaw?"

"Fine." She was quiet for a moment, and then said, "Orangepaw is talking to Pinepaw. Pinepaw is saying to run away for her own good. Orangepaw is leaving. She is going to Milkpaw." There was silence again, and then, "Milkpaw is talking to Lionstar, talking about leaving. Lionstar doesn't want her to, but he will let her leave. She is leaving to go to Orangepaw. They are running into each other – not literally, they really just saw each other and walked up to each other - and . . . they are coming here to ask you for shelter."

The two met the others at the Thunderpath. They decided to make their camp near the Moonrock. The four cats found a tree they could sleep in.

"I discovered my power," Orangepaw said. Everybody listened eagerly.

"I can go anywhere in my dreams – StarClan, other spirit-places, and anywhere in the real world."

_Well_, Milkpaw said, _I suppose I should hunt. After all, Dancingpaw probably doesn't want to hunt, Orangepaw can't walk very well, and Flyingpaw, you can't hear the prey._

Everybody agreed with her. Soon, she had brought back plenty. There were well fed, and now they just needed to rest.


	13. 11 Searches

**I am sorry that I stopped updating, but I was on vacation and then I was busy and I finally had time today. I am not continuing the story after chapter 13.**

Ch. 11

Searches

In MoonClan, Snowfur and Sharpclaw were starting to get nervous. Flyingpaw had been missing for a few days. Snowfur missed his old apprentice, who should still be able to train, but had left anyways. Sharpclaw was worried about her kit. So they decided to ask Darkstar if they could search.

"Okay, but bring some of her friends."

So they brought Rockpaw and Sparrowpaw. Sparrowpaw didn't want to come, but she also had to make sure her sister was all right. Rockpaw wanted to help his best friend. He and Splashpaw didn't get along very well, and he and Sparrowpaw never really had a chance to be friends.

Nightpelt gave them traveling herbs, but put them inside a mouse so that it would taste better. Rockpaw ate it without complaint, but Sparrowpaw griped the whole time. Snowfur and Sharpclaw had eaten the herbs before, so they didn't complain, though Sharpclaw gave Sparrowpaw a look that said, "That's not what I taught you, ya know." Sparrowpaw gulped slightly.

They walked off casually, worrying about Flyingpaw. They decided to head toward the Moonrock. They heard a snapping twig, a flash of off-white fur before it was hidden from sight. "Milkpaw?" they asked. She moved up so that they could see her face above the small bush before she darted away.

Milkpaw misled them all the way to the Moonrock, going far away from their secret camp. She ran far ahead then, and hid out of sight. She'd have to wait for them to leave. _Flyingpaw, four MoonClan cats are here. A dark grey tom apprentice, a she-cat apprentice that looks like you, a white tomcat, and another cat that looks like you, but she's a warrior,_ she said to her friend.

She kept out of sight and walked to a mud puddle. The mud that they had used to hide their scent was coming off. Her now brown coat blended in well with the forest, and she slipped through the trees to their camp.

The patrol of searchers decided to give up. Milkpaw refused to speak, and they had lost track of her. They had been following their scents, and the smell stopped at a small mud puddle. They had used the mud to hide. They were clever for cats their age.

They walked away, knowing their general area, but also knowing that they did not want to be found.

* * *

Orangepaw had always enjoyed her dreams, but now, she enjoyed them even more. The small orange cat had gone into places that were forbidden, and now she knew why they were, like why the twolegplace was a place of death; it was full of dogs and housed an evil twoleg.

Suddenly she wanted to know where the original clans, but she looked up and saw a blue cat looking at her.

"I am Rainfall, and I heard you saying that you wanted to know where the original Clans were?"

"Yeah."

"You can find them if you hear the original story of the cats that left." The cat paused, and then began the story.

"Grasswhisker was an adventurous cat. She was a white cat, with grass-stained paws and whiskers thick, like blades of grass. When she was kicked out, she found some other cats, and they were eager to leave. She convinced them to leave, and they left, following the river for seven moons. They settled down, and thus, your clans began." Rainfall left, and Orangepaw began to follow the river.

Orangepaw found that she could fly in her dreams. She just floated around. She could go far faster than in the real world. She decided to go to the Original Clans. Her light orange pelt was a blur, zooming up the river. In about two hours, she was there. It was a lake, but that was all she saw before she was woken up by a yowl in her ear.

"DANCINGPAW'S GONE!"


	14. 12 Dancingpaw's Troubles

Ch. 12

Dancingpaw's Troubles

Dancingpaw heard a yowl as she headed to the Moonrock, but she ignored it. There were more important things to worry about. All of her senses were enhanced because of her blindness, and she was completely alert. She needed to sense any obstacles by whatever she could use: the shape of the ground alerted her to hills and miniature valleys, her whiskers sensed the strength of the wind in different places, for the weaker wind meant an obstacle ahead. Since the wind was coming towards her, her small but sensitive nose smelled everything: a piece of crowfood coming up on her left, a squirrel up the tree next to her, the dry smell of rocks marking the entrance to the Moonrock's cave. The moon shone bright, even though she couldn't see it. When she was inside, there was no wind to guide her, no smells she recognized. She used her paws to find her was into the cave. Eventually, she pricked the pad on her lucky white paw on a crystal. She had found the Moonrock. She bent down and touched it with her nose as she fell asleep.

She saw a cat with majestically long light grey fur. His whiskers were long, and his fur swept across the ground. His light blue-grey eyes watched her carefully.

"I am Featherstar of RiverClan. I may not be of your Clan, but you and your friends deserve warrior names. You have been through more than most cats. Bring them tonight, and I will meet you here." She woke up, still seeing the gentle cat's face in her mind's eye. She found her way back more easily; not only did she remember the way, but she also could smell her own path. She ran back. "Hurry, before the moonlight is gone! We must go to the Moonrock!" She could sense the other cat's stares. "I went there and I spoke with Featherstar. I don't know why I went, but Featherstar wants to see us." The four cats set out for the Moonrock.

"You returned," he said with a slight hint of surprise in his voice. "Now, we should begin the ceremony.

"Milkpaw, you have been through more trouble than most good apprentices. You may not have served your Clan, but you still need your warrior name. Will be loyal to StarClan, SunClan, and your friends?"

"I will."

"Then by my powers as a member of StarClan, I declare that your new name is Milkfur."

"Milkfur! Milkfur! Milkfur!" her friends chanted, only to find that a group of StarClan cats were joining the chant.

"Orangepaw, you did nothing to deserve what happened to you, but your injury turned out to be your strength. You need a warrior name, even if you didn't serve FlowerClan.

"Will you serve FlowerClan, StarClan, and your friends?"

"Yes."

"From now on, you will be known as Orangeflower."

"Orangeflower! Orangeflower!" The ghostly chorus chanted along with the cats she knew.

"Flyingpaw, you once fantasized about what would happen at this moment when you were a young apprentice of MoonClan. Now, you live with your friends in neutral territory, and you have helped them and your clan while fulfilling your destiny. Will you continue to help StarClan, MoonClan, and your friends?"

"Yes." Her meow was strong and confident.

"Then by the power StarClan once gave me and still let me keep even though I am no longer of RiverClan, your new name is Flyingclaw."

"Flyingclaw! Flyingclaw! Flyingclaw!" the cats of StarClan chanted.

"Dancingpaw-" Featherstar broke off as if he had seen something that stopped their meeting, and he said, "Go, now, it is not safe here anymore. Come back in two sunrises."

"Great," Dancingpaw muttered. "Why am I always the only one?"

The cats woke up, and headed back to their camp. For Dancingpaw, those two sunrises seemed to last forever.

On the second sunrise, she was excited, and she wandered around. She smelled something odd, so she followed the scent. She was focused so intently that she didn't sense the tree in front of her, ramming into it. She fell down, confused, and took a minute to recover before she continued, more carefully this time. She smelled the scent of twolegs, and found something odd. It was a bit like the Thunderpath; it was foul-smelling and created by twolegs. She noticed that it was about her height, almost two tail-lengths long, and about a tail-length wide. She found a door made of something like a net, except that it was hard. She knew it could close on her, but the twolegs weren't around to close it, so she explored it. The second her tail was inside, the door shut. Something made an odd sound, and she started yowling for help. Orangeflower heard the yowling and came.

Orangeflower found that a lever on the front would open the door if there was enough weight on it. She put both of her paws on it, letting her front paws hold all of her weight, the lever supporting her, which wasn't hard, considering she never put too much weight on her hind legs, anyways. She pushed, and it snapped down about the length of a mouse's tail. "Push it open!" she said to Dancingpaw. Dancingpaw used her nose to push it open, and Orangeflower offered her tail for Dancingpaw to follow. Dancingpaw didn't have time to get through the forest the usual way. Soon, they were back at the camp. Orangeflower looked up at the moon rising up over the trees. It was a half moon. They would have to wait for the medicine cats to go first. Milkfur kept a lookout from a tree, and the others waited nearby.

Soon, they saw Alderfur, Adderfang, Nightpelt, and Yewtail walking together, talking about herbs.

"We don't have very much borage left, so can we borrow some?" Nightpelt asked Yewtail.

"Sure." The old cat's voice was raspy.

Meanwhile, Alderfur and Adderfang were talking about the missing cats. "Milkpaw told us she'd be leaving. She asked Lionstar for permission."

"I don't think Dancingpaw is as helpless as I thought. By now, she should be good at finding her way around without sight, so if I find her, I'll ask her to rejoin the Clan."

"MoonClan searched, and they saw Milkpaw," Nightpelt interjected. "They said they smelled one cat from each Clan. They must have found their fellow injured cats and made a camp somewhere here." Eventually, they got to the Moonrock (I _got there faster than them!_ Dancingpaw thought.)


	15. 13 Dancing Lights and Twolegs

Ch. 13

Dancing Lights and Twolegs

Dancingpaw led the way to the Moonrock, where the four medicine cats were sleeping around it. They quickly fell asleep, and Dancingpaw and her friends came face to face with Featherstar. "Dancingpaw, you proved yourself able to fight and hunt without sight, which most warriors don't figure out. Do you promise to always be loyal and fair to your friends, your Clan, and StarClan?"

She was a bit taken aback by the sudden beginning to the ceremony. "Uh . . . yes."

"Then by the power StarClan gave me when I became leader of RiverClan and did not take away when I joined StarClan, your warrior name is Dancinglight."

"Dancinglight! Dancinglight!" But only her friends chanted her name. The group of StarClan cats was not there. "Now leave before the medicine cats notice you. Hurry!" They woke up and ran back to their camp. They decided that they should move. They rolled in mud to disguise their scent, and then they climbed to the top of the hill that the Moonrock was inside of. They ran up a ways, and soon found another suitable camp. They settled again, but as the medicine cats were leaving, Milkfur accidentally spoke loud enough for them to hear. She had been surprised by something in the bushes, and yelled, _Hey, get over here, quick! There's a _huge_ fox!_

Adderfang recognized her voice. "Milkpaw?"

_I'm Milkfur now._

"No you're not, you never did the ceremony."

_Yes, I did. Featherstar, a member of StarClan, did our warrior ceremonies._

"Where are you?" Nightpelt yowled.

She said nothing. "Where are you?" the old she-cat yowled even louder than before. Still, Milkfur said nothing.

"Are the others with you?"

_What others?_

"Three other cats." After a second, she decided to say, _Yes._

"Come back!"

_We can't yet, not unless the others can stay in SunClan._

"They can."

_Okay. It will be nice to be back in my Clan._

"Milkfur, Dancinglight will probably be more comfortable in my Clan's forests. She can come with me back to MoonClan."

_Okay. Come on, Orangeflower._ They leapt down, and told the medicine cats of their decision.

"We'll leave you in MoonClan with Nightpelt, then, and you two can come with me back to SunClan."

They all agreed, but as they split up, Orangeflower heard a whisper of thought that was thought just barely too loud. _Now we can separate them. Our plan worked out, and they even helped._

"Wait!" she yowled. "Come on! We can't go with them." And with that, the four ran through SunClan and into the forest beyond the fields. "What was that about?" Dancinglight exclaimed. She had been unusually quiet, but now the irritable young cat was back to normal.

"They thought too loud. It sounded like they were trying to separate us."

"What did they say?" Flyingclaw asked quietly, but quickly.

"They said something like, 'Now we can separate them. Our plan worked, and they helped.'"

They sat in horror for a moment, and then Milkfur said, _But at least we are back together. We shouldn't let them divide us again._

They ate a few mice, and fell asleep. But Milkfur and Flyingclaw couldn't sleep. They got up for a walk and found a twoleg box. No one had told them about the last one, and she walked inside only to have it close. Milkfur tried to tell the others, but something in the substance it was made of kept her voice from reaching them. They waited, sitting side by side, glad she had eaten earlier. They could be waiting here for a long time. They eventually ended up just laying in the box. They was tired of crouching, but didn't want to sleep. When the morning came, a twoleg came, and she watched the she-twoleg approach. The twoleg picked up the box and carried it to the thunderpath, where a monster was waiting. The box was loaded into the back and then once the back door of the monster was closed, the door opened, even though the twoleg was in the front part. Milkfur examined the edge of the door, and found that the frame had some odd device that had made a weird noise before, even though she hadn't paid that much attention then. They stepped out of the box and found three other cats: Nightpelt of MoonClan, Swiftclaw of SnowClan, and Blackleaf of FlowerClan.

Nightpelt had walked into a box when she had been searching for her and her friends, thinking that they would have returned. Swiftclaw had been on a hunting patrol and had found a box, and Blackleaf had been wandering dangerously close to the mean twoleg's den, and wandered curiously in. It seemed that one was placed in each corner of the Clans' land. Milkfur spoke quietly, but then realized that she didn't know if she could talk to twolegs. _Hi, I'm Milkfur,_ she said, making sure that Flyingclaw heard her. The twoleg said something in a mean tone of voice, and Flyingclaw quietly said that she meant the twoleg version of "Shut your mouse-hole."

Milkfur said clearly to the twoleg, _Let us go, or I'll tell the world that you're a murderer._ The twoleg was terrified. "She wanted to let dogs kill us," Flyingclaw said.

The twoleg drove them back to the forest and released them. Blackleaf and Swiftclaw swore to keep their powers a secret, and Nightpelt had already known. They went back to their camps, and told their friends that they had escaped from a twoleg. But only the new warriors told the truth.


End file.
